The Phoenix Rebellion
by Mentally Impaired
Summary: Sequel to tDEoH and tA. The Phoenix Rebels are constantly waging a war against Voldemort and his Kingdom of the Pure. However, they aren't strong enough to achieve victory on their own. It's up to Harry to gather the support necessary to defeat Voldemort once and for all. But Harry has to be careful; while Voldemort can only be killed by Harry, Harry can be killed by anyone...
1. Gold Team

This is the third installment in the Death Eaters of Hogwarts series. I am still working on the re-write of the Death Eaters of Hogwarts, and will soon be working on the re-write and completion of The Areani. The chapters for those two will come out much faster then the chapters for this one. However, I should state that I am now a working man and I still love to party, so chapters can and will take weeks to write.

As I finish up with the prequels to this, I'll slowly bridge the gap between what you read in this story and what you know so far based on where I am currently at with the prequels. Hopefully, that will peak some of your interest.

Chapter 1 Gold Team

"Dragon Squad move up to the perimeter."

The fifteen green armored figures moved forward as fast as they could in crouch form. After several dozen meters the lead figure held up his fist. The group stopped moving almost as one, resting on one knee.

"Wards start here," the lead figure murmured.

"Roger that. Everyone find some cover. I know its night time but we don't want any patrols spotting us."

The team scrambled to obey, moving themselves behind bushes, trees and rocks that sat around the area. Once he was satisfied the entire group was sufficiently hidden, the leader followed their example.

"Once Gold Team takes down the wards, wait for my signal to advance," the Squad leader stated.

Fourteen affirmatives met his statement. The leader of Dragon Squad nervously tapped his wand against his off hand. The entire operation rested on the shoulders of Gold Team. It was a risky operation. The first problem was the fact that anytime an item imbued with magic, such as a wand, entered the wards, it would ping the security room and someone would be sent to investigate if clearance wasn't already granted. Then there was the problem that if you weren't keyed in to the wards, your magic would trigger an alert and the entire base would jump into action.

One of the strongest magical users on their side was being sent in with magical suppressors that would not only shield the person's magic from the wards, but would also prevent the person from using magic altogether. Well the entire team was being sent in with the suppressors, the problem with the one guy was there were a handful of people in the world whose magic was so strong it could leak through the suppressors if they weren't careful, and they were sending one of those people in. Not to mention the entirety of Gold Team was going to have to go in magic-less against hundreds of magic wielding Death Eaters.

Noticing the six specks free-falling through the sky, Dragon leader closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He hoped everything went according to plan.

* * *

Gold One felt the wind whipping against his body as he prepared to jump over the edge. The magic carpet that his team was jumping from was only a thousand feet in the air, several hundred feet above the top of the wards. That meant they had roughly eight seconds from jumping to hitting the building with a big splat.

"All squads are in position. You're clear to go Gold Team," the witch maneuvering the carpet shouted over the wind.

Gold One gave her a thumbs up before looking at his team. They all nodded their heads, waiting for him to give them the signal to go. Taking a deep breath, Gold One threw himself over the edge of the carpet and began the drop, the rest of his team following his example.

As he fell, he counted in his head the seconds. One. He wondered if the rest of his team would react in time to prevent their deaths. _Two_. Hell, he wondered if he would time it right and prevent his own death. _Three_. What if he missed his target completely? _Four_. If he missed, the whole mission would be compromised. _Five_.

He yanked the cord on his harness. _Six_. The small parachute unfolded from its pack and the harness yanked hard on his shoulders, cutting his acceleration in half. _Seven_. His acceleration continued to drop. _Eight_. He was still moving pretty quickly but it wasn't at speeds that would kill him when he landed. _Nine_. He bent his legs and grit his teeth, preparing himself for the rough landing. _Ten_. He slammed into the roof of the building hard, his knees buckling upon impact and sent him falling forward. _Eleven_.

Immediately, he pressed a button and the ropes of his chute began to retract into its backpack, preventing the parachute from flapping around unnecessarily and being seen from ground patrols. Looking around, he saw that the rest of his team had made it onto the roof safe and sound. They too were retracting their parachutes. Step one of the mission had been a success. He only hoped none of the ground patrols had noticed the six figures. They wore black suits and had used black parachutes, but you could never be too sure.

Gold Two walked up to Gold One, who had picked himself up off the floor, and patted him on the shoulder, giving him a thumbs up. The rest of the team was ready to go. The roof of the base was flat and relatively open. There were no doors leading into the base from the roof. They needed to have another way in.

Gold One took off the backpack and harness contraption containing the parachute and let it fall from his hands. He wouldn't be needing it anymore and all it would do is slow him down. He moved to the edge of the roof and looked down; three floors up. A fall from that height wouldn't kill him but it would definitely leave him seriously wounded. He shook his head and nodded to Gold Five.

Gold five, the shortest member of the group, moved toward the edge and looked down. She stepped to her left several feet before nodding her head. She reach to her combat belt, grabbing a rod attached to a thick black rope and pressed a button. Sharp metal spikes jumped from the rod, sticking out of its tip. Gold Five jammed the spikes of the rod into the roof as hard as she could. She tugged on the rope with as much force as she could but the rod didn't budge. Satisfied, she tossed the rope over the edge of the roof. She grabbed the rope with two hands before lowering herself over the edge, where she slowly climbed down.

Gold One looked over the edge and observed Gold Five in action. She made her way down eight or so feet and came to a rest between two windows. Gold Five looked into one of the windows and nodded her approval. She reached into the magical suppressing bag, which stifled the magic from magical items, on her combat belt and pulled out what looked like a piece of putty. She slammed the putty onto the window and waited a second. A sizzle filled the air, barely audible to the five on the roof, as the putty dissolved the basic wards on the window. Gold Five pushed the window open and made her way inside.

Nodding his head to the rest of his team, Gold One watched as Gold Two made his way to the rope and began lowering himself down. Gold One went next and thirty seconds later found himself in a potions lab. As Gold Six started to enter the room, Gold One made his way from cauldron to cauldron. He could identify all of the healing potions and salves that were being made. The specific lab they were in must be the one used to supply the base's hospital wing.

The potions would come in handy but they had a mission to complete. He withdrew their blueprints of the building, supplied to them by one of their spies. The important rooms were marked off, including the barracks, officer quarters and the room they were targeting. Pulling out a marker, he found where they were on the map and marked it off. If all went to plan, they would be back to take what they needed.

As he was checking out the cauldrons, Gold Two was checking to make sure the hallway was clear. Gold Two gave the all clear sign, and Gold One gave a curt nod. Gold Two slowly moved his way into the hallway, followed by Gold Three and Gold Six. Gold One made his way after the first three, Gold Four and Gold Five bringing up the rear. They made their way carefully down the hallway, ears alert for any noise.

A door to their right opened, a pair of robed Death Eaters standing in the doorway. Before the Death Eaters could react, Gold Four was upon them, arms moving quickly through the air as she quickly and quietly took the both of them down. Peering into the room behind the two now motionless Death Eaters, Gold One saw that it was just a loo. He motioned to the two down figures, and Gold Two and Six stepped forward to drag the Death Eaters into stalls and out of eyesight. Once everything was taken care of, Gold One used two fingers to indicate they should keep moving forward.

As they came to a corner, Gold Two held up his fist and the group stopped moving forward. Gold Two peaked around the corner. "Target in sight."

It was the first words spoken by any of them since they had neared the base on the magic carpet.

"How many?" Gold One asked, meaning guards.

"Five," Gold Two responded.

Gold One moved forward, Gold Two stepping back to allow him to see for himself. Gold One glanced out and noticed the four black robed figures standing around. There was too much hallway between them and the guards. They would surely be spotted moving in.

"Gold Three, get me the robes and mask from the ones we stored in the loo," Gold One ordered.

Gold Three didn't respond, instead moving swiftly back the way they had come. He returned several moments later, holding out the robes and mask as far from his body as possible, as if the clothing carried something contagious. Gold One took one of the sets, and indicated Gold Two to take one as well.

"We'll take care of the guards," Gold One stated as he slid the robes over his black body suit. He put the mask over his face and blinked in surprise. The mask was completely transparent from the inside. If he couldn't feel the mask on his face, he would doubt he was even wearing one.

Shaking his head, he stepped around the corner and walked at a steady pace. Gold Two followed his movements a step behind him. He didn't know if there were other ways of identifying fellow Death Eaters, other then just their garb and the Dark Mark. If there was, this probably wouldn't work.

As he continued his casual approach to the targets, he noticed them tense slightly at their approach. He had to remind himself to remain calm. Wouldn't do to act inappropriately and give himself away.

"You know only officers are allowed down here," one of them called to him.

Gold One, slowed his pace and Gold Two followed his lead. There was still fifteen feet between them and the guards they needed to take care of. The two members of Gold Team continued their approach, trying to close the distance as fast as possible while moving at a slow pace. It was quite troublesome.

"I have a message from the Captain," Gold One uttered, dropping his voice almost an octave.

One of the guards drew his wand and aimed it at the two members of Gold Team, both of whom came to a stop at the sight of the magical weapon.

"Well what is the message?" the wizard with the drawn wand demanded.

Gold One's mind took only a second to take everything in. Three feet between him and the tip of a wand aimed at his chest. Five and a half feet between him and the torso of the man who held a wand on him. Eight feet between him and the remaining guards, all of who had their hands on their wands but had yet to draw them.

Gold One shrugged his shoulders. "To watch out behind you of course."

The Death Eater tilted his head for a second before glancing over his shoulder. Gold One lunged forward, slamming his right hand into the elbow of the wizard's wand arm. With his left hand Gold One forced the wizard's wand hand to bend until the tip of the wizard's wand dug into the wizard's own shoulder. With his right hand Gold One punched the wizard in the throat, preventing him from speaking; more importantly preventing him from shouting for help. He reached for something on his belt and once grabbing it, threw his hand out. A knife flew from his grasp and buried itself in the chest of the farthest enemy.

In the seven or so seconds it took him to do that, Gold Two had lunged at the next nearest Death Eater and drove his fist into the Death Eater's stomach, driving the wind from his body. Then, lifting the Death Eater up, he had tossed him into the two other Death Eaters, who had just drawn there wands with spells at the tips of their tongues. Together, all three toppled to the ground, landing in a heap on their dead comrade with a knife in his chest.

Gold One shoved the Death Eater he held backwards, before swinging his fist as hard as he could. He connected with the man's temple, bruising his hand on the mask but impacting with enough force to knock the man unconscious. He shook his hand as the man slumped to the ground.

Gold Two had jumped onto the pile of three Death Eaters and was successful in both preventing the Death Eaters from calling for help and using their wands to cast spells. While they were all taught several hand-to-hand combats, Gold Two would be considered more of a brawler then a fighter. Gold One stepped forward to assist, delivering a kick to the mid-section of one of the Death Eaters. Bending down, he grabbed another one by the neck and lifted the man to his feet, wrapping one arm around the man's neck and using his other one to push the man's head forward.

The man struggled in that desperate way people flailed as they tried to get air back in their lungs. Fingers clawed furiously at his arms, feet kicked helplessly in the air. Soon all movements ceased, like they always did, and the man went limp. Letting go, the man's body collapsed to the ground.

Gold Two had taken care of the other two men, and the rest of the team had approached during the confrontation.

"Could have just used your muggle weapons," Gold Six muttered, indicating the array of knives and swords each of them carried.

"Where would be the fun in that?" Gold Two asked with a grin.

Gold One jabbed his thumb at the door the four men had been guarding. "You're up Gold Five."

Gold Five nodded her head and examined the door carefully. "Heavily warded. Sapping putty won't work." Gold Five dug around in her magical suppressing bag, the only way to sneak magical items through wards that indicated when magical items passed through them.

Gold One nodded his head. That was to be expected. One just didn't leave the room that held your master control stone guarded by only four Death Eaters. Other security measures needed to be in place, it was only common sense.

"How long?" Gold One asked.

"Without magic? No idea," Gold Five responded honestly.

"You've got," Gold One pulled back the sleeves of his jumpsuit and glanced at the watch on his wrist. "Twenty-five minutes before the task force declares us captured and abandons the mission."

"Right, no pressure then," Gold Five murmured.

"Gold Three, assist Gold Five. Gold Two and Six, take one end of the hallway. Gold Four and I will take the other end."

Gold One and Gold Four walked back the way they came, with Gold One leaning out enough to look around the corner and keep an eye out.

"What are you doing, after this?" Gold Four asked. "When we get back to Badger's Burrow?"

"No idea," Gold One murmured.

"Surely you have some idea."

Gold One remained silent.

"Grabbing a bottle again? Drinking yourself into a drunken stupor?" Gold Four hissed out.

Gold One gritted his teeth but kept his eyes forward and didn't say anything in response. She was right. That was his plan. It was always his plan.

"You can't keep drinking like you have. One day it will come to bite you in the ass," Gold Four reprimanded.

"What the bloody hell do you want me to do?" Gold One spat, glancing briefly over his shoulder at Gold Four.

Her arms were crossed over her chest and her eyes glared at him. She wouldn't be the first person who had tried to stop him from drinking.

"To leave the bottle alone for once," Gold Four stated.

Gold One snorted. "Do you know what its like? The things I've seen? They haunt me. When I'm left alone with nothing to do, my thoughts wander to them. When I close my eyes I see things that would make most piss themselves in fright. Drinking numbs the pain, and when I drink enough, I forget it all; if only for that brief period of time."

"You told us once that there was another way for you to keep your thoughts from drifting at night."

Gold One sucked in his breath. "That was just drunken rambling. Not since-"

"We're in!" Gold Five's voice carried down the corridor.

Gold One gave Gold Four a look before trudging back toward Gold Five. Indeed, Gold Five and Gold Three had done it, as the door was wide open. Inside the rather small room, on a pedestal, sat a large piece of dragon bone with scores of runes carved into it. Gold One examined the runes for several moments.

"Complex. Definitely Germanic in origin. Anyone do Germanic?" Gold One asked.

Gold Four stepped into the room. "I suppose I'm the best in the team at Germanic."

Gold One nodded his head and indicated Gold Four to get to work. The earlier conversation was forgotten. They were still on a mission and according to his watch, they only had three minutes. Gold Four withdrew a small chisel and hammer from her combat belt.

"Chip fast and chip hard," Gold One muttered, exiting the room.

"Gold Two and Three, get ready to send out the signal on my command."

Gold Two and Three moved toward the nearest door and made their way into whatever room the wooden door concealed. Gold One could hear a brief struggle inside but he ignored it. The lack of spell fire meant whoever was in the room had been overpowered.

"You know," Gold Five started, "this is when the real fun begins."

Gold Five fiddled with the zipper of her body suit. Gold One shot her a warning look.

"Not yet," Gold One warned.

* * *

Dragon squad leader had sat in the spot for fifty-nine minutes. Like those under his command, he had shifted restlessly as the minutes ticked. What was taking Gold Team so long? The team leader had assured High Command that they could complete the mission in an hour.

Just then a tiny beam of red light flashed from one of the upper windows. The squad leader had to blink twice to make sure he didn't miss it. Nope, it was definitely there. A muggle laser pointer was flashing at him from an upper window. That was the signal they needed. The wards had been taken care of. Gold Team had done it, just as they promised.

"Dragon Squad, move forward in a delta formation. Stay low and stay quiet. Silent casting only until we are inside. Take out any patrolling guards as quickly as possible. Move, move, move!"

They sprang from their cover, rushing the base as quickly as possible. No wards meant the only thing between them and reaching the building in front of them was a score or so patrolmen, against ninety charging men and women.

* * *

Gold One ducked into a doorway, its frame shattering under the impact of a few spells. The squads had easily made their ways into the base and taken care of whatever Death Eaters occupied the first floor but the barracks were on the second floor and the office quarters were on the third floor. The attack had stalled in the stairwells between first and second, leaving Gold Team with a dozen highly trained officers, and whatever Death Eater reinforcements they felt like calling.

"I have to pee!" Gold Six shouted from some random room.

"I told you to go before we left!" Gold One shouted back as an explosion echoed from the lower floors.

"_Diffindo_! I didn't have to go then!"Gold Six yelled in response.

Gold One rolled his eyes before jumping back into the hallway. He deflected a spell aimed at his chest and rolled underneath another one. Springing to his feet, he parried a third spell before lashing out with a bludgeoner. His spell was deflected into the ceiling, where it blew a hole through to the roof.

Side stepping return fire, he jabbed his wand forward and shot a lance of sparkling pink energy at his opponent. The witch, for the petite figure was obviously female, tried to deflect his attack but the force of the magic shattered her shield and sent her flying backwards. He hit her with a stunner and then tied her up with ropes. Prisoners were always fun entertainment.

Wiping imaginary dirt of his golden armor, Gold One made his way further down the hallway. The black jumpsuits they had worn was what was suppressing not only their magic, but the magic of their armor. Mithril and dragon hide would definitely have tipped off the wards when they first entered. So would have the wands and sapping putty if it wasn't for the magical suppressing bags they had been supplied with before the missions started.

However, with the wards gone and their presence already known, Gold Team had went back to wielding magic. And they were loving every minute of it.

"You know," Gold Two stated as he came up besides Gold One, "it isn't enough we sneak in and take down the wards so the squads can enter, but do we have to take out every Death Eater ourselves, or are they going to lend a hand?"

"They were outnumbered three to one. Only the element of surprise let them drop that ratio down to two to one. We're still outnumbered" Gold One reminded his second.

Gold Two shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe."

"The more we take out, the easier it is for them to break the stalemate on the stairs."

"True," Gold Two muttered. "Guess its time to get back to work.'

A group of five Death Eaters rounded the corner. Gold One dropped into a crouch and let loose a barrage of spells. Gold Two, summoned the nearest door off its hinges and banished it behind Gold One's spells. As the Death Eaters defended themselves from the attack, Gold One indicated to the floor.

"_Reducto_!"

They both shouted at the same time, both purposely aiming the spell low and both putting as much power as they could into it. The jets of light hit the floor right in front of the group of Death Eaters. Wooden splinters littered the air but were shielded against.

"Floors stronger then I thought," Gold One muttered as he ducked underneath a cutting hex.

As Gold One twirled to avoid a Killing Curse, he noticed Gold Six walking up behind the two of them, adjusting his armor.

"Where were you?"

"I told you, I had to go to the bathroom," Gold Six explained.

Gold Two blasted a Death Eater off of his feet before hastily deflecting a piercer. Gold One rolled his eyes as he deflected a sinister looking jet of black magic back at its caster.

"Go see if the others need help. We need to make a push downwards, help the squads out and free them to advance. This place needs to be cleared out, raided and destroyed before enemy reinforcements come."

Gold Six gave a nod before turning around and taking off at a jog. Gold One conjured a pair of wolves out of thin air and sent them charging down the corridor, accompanied with some spells courtesy of Gold Two.

After the spells were shielded against and the two wolves turned to meaty pulp, a barrage of energy was launched at the two members of Gold Team. Gold One conjured a wall of marble, which began to get pulverized by the magic hitting it. Large chunks of stone were blasted from it as the Death Eaters worked to reduce the defense to nothing.

"This is boring," Gold Two stated plainly. "No room to maneuver and not enough space for the more powerful and wider range spells."

Gold One and Two were forced to duck as the Death Eaters finally managed to break through the marble wall and spell fire rained over their heads.

"_Zauberauw_!"

A large beam of spiraling gold magic flew from Gold One's wand. The Death Eaters combined their magic into one solid wall of defensive energy, hoping to defend against the powerful magic. The gold beam slammed into the defensive magic and exploded in a ball of light and the sound of thunder. Gold One shielded his eyes from the blast, and when the blinding glow died down, saw that the group of Death Eaters had all been thrown from their feet and the ground they had been standing on was a gaping hole to the floor below.

Gold Two whistled at the damage. "Guess we can use the more powerful spells."

"Toss some mage-nades through the hole. This needs to end quickly."

"Stunners or explosions?" Gold Two asked, holding to different metallic spheres in his hand, each one covered in runes.

"Explosions," Gold One decided.

Gold Two nodded his head, putting the stunner mage-nade back in its place and withdrawing another explosion one. He walked up to the hole between the third and second floors, and after pressing the activation rune set, dropped the spheres through the hole.

"Bombs away!" Gold Two shouted, scrambling backwards.

Twin explosions rock the floor beneath them, and the hole the mage-nades fell through widened significantly. Gold One approached the now gaping area and looked down. Several dead Death Eaters littered the area, as well as a few wounded.

"Let's double back and link up with the rest of the team. No way we can move froward from here."

* * *

Gold Team piled into their personal common room, removing the armor from upon them and letting it fall to the floor. They knew the house-elves would pick up their armor, make it spotless and put it in the appropriate locker.

Gold One swept his bangs from his face and threw himself onto an armchair. He kicked his boots off of his feet and swung them so they hung over the side of the chair.

"We lost too many lives," Gold Three muttered, as she plopped down on a couch.

"It's an unfortunate part of war Su," Gold Five stated.

Su Li was barely over five feet tall and had a slim body. Yet her small frame made people underestimate the skilled fighter she was. Her black hair was cut short around her head, and her face, which barely smiled while at Hogwarts, didn't smile anymore. Su had been held captive by Dolohov for a month before the rebels had stormed his safe house and she had been rescued. She had recovered physically, but mentally and emotionally was something else entirely.

"I know that Marco," Su Li snapped. "I'm talking about the fact that with the way everything was planned, the squads shouldn't have gotten held up like that. That delay cost lives."

Marco Chambers held up his hands in defense as he sat at the other end of the couch. He stretched his wiry frame, his back cracking in several places at the movement. Marco's gray eyes closed for a moment as he took in a deep breath. His work for the British Ministry of Magic during the four years he was employed there had shown him even the best laid plans didn't go exactly how you wanted them to.

"Murphy's Law always has to be taken into affect. Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong," Marco stated.

Su humphed and crossed her arms over her chest. Gold Four slid herself onto the chaise lounge, groaning as she relaxed her tense muscles for the first time in several hours.

"What do you think we could have done better? To improve ourselves?" Gold Four asked.

"No more bathroom breaks in the middle of a fight," Gold One responded, dryly. "Isn't that right Derek?"

Derek Harper felt his face heat up as the others chuckled at him. As the youngest in the group he often found himself the butt of jokes and good-natured ribbing, even if he was only the youngest by a year. "I really had to pee."

At nineteen years old Derek was tall and broad-shouldered with short, dirty blond hair. His face was a mess of scars he had gotten while saving his muggle-born mother's life; saving her from his own Death Eater brother. The ensuing fight had resulted in the death of his brother but the young teen had gotten his mother to a rebel base, and considered his brother's death well worth the price of his mother's safety.

"You also can't let yourself get distracted by outside business. Your focus should always be on the mission because once you split your focus on something else, is when you get sloppy. Know what I mean Katie?" Gold One asked.

Katie Bell looked down for a moment, knowing what her leader was talking about. Their conversation in the hallway was perhaps something that shouldn't have happened when it did. She massaged the muscles between her shoulder blades, letting her dirty blond hair spill over her shoulder. She had kept her body in shape after leaving Hogwarts and Quidditch behind, as was required when fighting for the Ministry. Being one of the better fighters the Ministry had, she had seen a lot of bloody battles.

"I know what you mean Harry," Katie replied.

Harry Potter nodded his head. He ran his hand through his unruly hair and let out a sigh. A lot had happened to him over the years. Not all of it was pretty. He had found a light in the darkness though. Something to keep him from drowning in the despair that surrounded his life. Then that light had been ripped from him and now it was all he could do to keep his head afloat.

Harry looked at his team before realizing Gold Two was missing from the room. "Where's Neville?"

Neville Longbottom was quite the large man. His stocky frame had allowed the once chubby teen to pack on muscle, and after five years of training he had done just that. The Head of the Longbottom family had shaved his hair off, and combined with the scar running along his jaw, gave him quite the intimidating presence. Such a difference from the terrified first year he had been.

"The old lady wanted to see him. Make sure he got back in one piece," Marco stated.

The old lady was Neville's girlfriend, Parvati Patil. She was a Medi-Witch in the Badger's Burrow, one of the few who had made it out of St. Mungo's Alive. She was also Harry's ex-girlfriend, but that was five years ago and mutually agreed upon ancient history.

"I'm going to go to bed," Harry mumbled as he stood up.

The others shot themselves knowing looks. When Harry said he was going to bed, he meant he was going to drink a bottle of whatever he could get his hands on until he got so drunk he passed out. As Harry made his way out of the room, Katie got up to follow him.

"You shouldn't keep doing this," Katie said from behind him.

Harry ignored her and kept walking. Katie sped up her pace a little to draw even with him.

"You said there was another way to stop your memories and thoughts from overwhelming you at night."

Harry stopped walking and turned toward Katie with guarded eyes. "That was before... That was when she was still alive."

"It's been five months Harry and every night since then you've been getting drunk. If there is another way, let me help you," Katie pleaded.

He snorted at that. "I think it was more then just the act itself Katie. It was the bond, the connection between us that helped keep my memories at bay. The sex was just a way to emphasize that bond."

"You'll never know if you don't try."

Harry hand shot forward and grabbed Katie by the neck. With some force, he shoved her against the wall, slamming her back hard into the stone. She let out an 'oof' but other then that she didn't react. Harry moved his face until it was inches from hers, gazing into her eyes. There was no fear; only determination mixed with primal lust.

"Is this what you want Katie?" Harry growled out.

"Yes," she whispered.

Harry crushed his lips against her in a fierce kiss that was fueled by nothing but anger. After several seconds he pulled back and looked at her lips which were starting to swell slightly at his rough treatment. "Then you got it."


	2. Tartarus

Chapter 2 Tartarus

Harry walked slowly along the perimeter, his wand in his hand and his eyes scanning the meadow around him in the early morning light. He wasn't scheduled for patrol duty but had found himself unable to sleep and so had offered to take Neville's shift so his second in command could have more time with his girlfriend.

What had once been a tiny quiet village in Southern England had been transformed into a military base. After the town had been swarmed by Dementors, its entire population of 63 people kissed, the Council had decided to take it over. Once muggles in hazmat suits had arrived to quarantine the so-called infected villagers, the town had been left taped off. A few waves of a wand later and the muggles believe the town was under heavy investigation from a team of scientist, and muggle-repelling wards prevented them from coming to the area to see this supposed science team at work. Once the Council had confirmed that the village was out of muggle hands, the engineering teams had been sent in. Buildings were altered to fit needs; walls being added or torn down where needed. Hallways and additional rooms sprung up overnight.

Most of the twenty-four houses had been connected and turned into barracks and personal mess halls for each of the eight, roughly fifteen man squads; Dragon, Katana, Bravo, Wolf, Hydra, Gladius, Hawk and Zeta. A cluster of three houses that were relatively close to each other had been turned into the bases medical center, where the two medi-wizards and seven healers took care of the wounded and lived. One house had been given to Gold Team, another two had gone to house the commanding officer and his staff.

The main section of shops, along with the small government building had been turned into the base's command center. The pharmacy had been turned into a potion's lab, mostly to help keep the medical center completely stocked. The remaining stores had been turned into storage for their supplies. A defensive wall made of every material they could get their hands on encircled the town; its mismatched assortment of brick, crushed cars, fallen trees and cement was enchanted to withstand quite the beating.

The Badger's Burrow wasn't the size of the Hog's Pen, the name given to the combined area of Hogsmeade and Hogwarts. Nor was it as impressive a sight as the Dragon's Lair, a former decaying fortress in south-eastern Ireland that had been magicked to look like new. However, it fit the needs required of it so it would do fine.

As he walked along outside the defensive wall, Harry sensed rather then saw the figure as it approached. He turned his head and spotted the witch as she slowly made her way to the Badger's Burrow. Harry tensed and sent a messenger patronus to whoever was on duty in command, warning of the approaching figure.

"A phoenix's fire burns brightest before it is reborn from the ashes," a familiar voice called out.

The phrase spoken was one of several used to identify fellow Phoenix Rebels. Such a phrase couldn't be spoken while under the influence of potions, nor could it be gleaned from a mind with legilimency. There were magics that prevented the phrases from being learned by Voldemort's agents. Still, it was better to be safe than sorry, even if he did recognize the voice.

"Two years ago, a few days before my birthday, I told you something I liked about you. What was it?"

The figure stopped short at the sight of Harry's wand. "Come on Harry. Do I really have to answer that?"

"Answer the question," Harry demanded, the tip of his wand glowing brightly with a curse eager to be cast.

The figure sighed. "You said you loved that I could deep throat you. That no other girl you had been with was able to."

"Hello Susan," Harry said as he lowered his wand and welcomed another of his ex-girlfriends to the Badger's Burrow. "What brings you to southern England?"

"I have a letter for you. A request from the Headmaster," Susan Bones replied, holding up an envelope for his green eyes to see.

Just then half of Bravo Squad came running out of the main gate, their wands raised. Harry waved them off and indicated that Susan should follow him.

"I got a message from the Headmaster. Someone want to finish my shift? Only fifty-three minutes left."

"I got you Potter," Bravo team leader muttered.

Harry tilted his head. "Thanks McNulty."

Susan followed as Harry led her through the streets of the former village and to the command center. It was still early in the morning, so only the graveyard shift occupied the building. He brought her to the conference room where they both took a seat.

"So what mission has the Council cooked up?" Harry questioned, leaning back.

"It's not from the Council. It's from the Headmaster and just the Headmaster. He has a request; an important favor to ask of you."

Susan handed over the letter but Harry didn't open it. He turned it over in his hands several times, fiddling with it before looking at Susan.

"You seem to know what the letter is about. Explain the favor to me."

Susan looked at him for several seconds before sighing. "Two days ago the Headmaster's great-granddaughter Alexis Dempsey was captured, along with several of her comrades. The Council won't approve a rescue mission; they think it's too risky. And the Headmaster is still weak from his encounter with Rookwood and Macnair several days ago. Unable to go himself, he's asking you to go for him. Besides his brother, she is the only family of his left in Europe and he feels it is his responsibility to protect her."

Harry slowly nodded his head. "What base was she stationed at? Lion's Den?"

"Alexis isn't a Phoenix Rebel. She's an Amazon."

Amazons were a group of badass witches. They were basically a group of all female battle mages, trained in all kinds of combat. There was no discrimination or race, ethnicity or blood purity for the Amazons, as long as they were witch. Harry knew about the group because both Katie Bell and Susan had been asked to join on their eighteenth birthdays, the age of recruitment. Of course both had declined since the Amazons had no loyalty to any nation or cause.

"If you are wary of accepting this, the Headmaster would also like for me to point out that by rescuing these Amazons, we might be able to solidify an alliance with their group."

Harry mulled it over in his head. Albus Dumbledore was like a grandfather to him, so to do him a favor and rescue his great-granddaughter was the least he could do. Not to mention the thought of having a group of battle mages working with the Phoenix Rebellion; it would definitely help their fight against Voldemort. Plus there was the fact that a group of females who could kick some ass turned Harry on. What could he say? He was attracted to strong women.

"What prison? Azkaban?"

"No. They weren't captured in the western zone. Then there is the fact that the Death Eater generals thought that with all the important prisoners already housed at Azkaban, bringing the Headmaster's great-granddaughter there would make it too tempting a target for us. She was caught in the southern zone and our spies have confirmed she was brought to Tartarus."

"Lestrange," Harry snarled. Who knew what the fuck that twisted bitch would be doing to the Headmaster's great-granddaughter. "I owe that cunt some fucking payback."

"So you'll do it?" Susan asked.

Harry nodded his head. "Of course. Captain Steele won't be happy I'm leaving but he'll have to deal with it."

Speaking of the devil, Captain Steele entered the room. He was a bald man of average height with a scowl permanently etched on his face. Steele had been an Auror Captain under the Ministry and had put the skills acquired under such a position of leadership to good use for the Phoenix Rebellion. Still, the man was a hard ass who got on Harry's nerves ever since Gold Team had been transferred to the Badger's Burrow.

"I heard we got a letter from the Headmaster. What are our new orders?" Steele asked, not bothering to take a seat.

"It's a personal letter. The Headmaster request a favor of me. Gold Team will have to leave the base for a few days."

Steele frowned and folded his arms over his chest. "If orders weren't issued by the Council—"

Harry held up his hand, cutting the Captain off. "Per my agreement with the Council, my teams fall outside the standard military control of the Phoenix Rebellion unless we are on a joint operation. My teams and I are free to follow no orders but our own unless they contradict those of the Council."

Harry saw Steele glaring at him and shrugged his shoulders in a 'what are you going to do' gesture. He knew his working outside the chain of command really irked on Captain Steele, a man who was set in stone in his ways.

"When will your team be leaving then?" Steele asked, his voice tight.

"In two hours' time," Harry answered. "Let my team sleep a little longer. Still leaves enough time to debrief my team, grab a good breakfast and say our goodbyes." He turned toward Susan and looked her over. "Will Silver Team be joining us on this mission?"

The leader of Silver Team shook her head. "I have to speak with Captain Steele about something and then report back to the Hog's Pen."

Harry nodded his head in acknowledgement. "Then I guess this is where I take my leave."

* * *

The members of Gold Team disembarked from the airplane separated from each other. Harry wore dark sunglasses that hid his eyes and some cover-up to hide his scar. He wore a wrinkled button up shirt over khaki pants and a pair of sandals over his feet. Hanging from a strap over his shoulder was a hemp bag magicked to hold all his equipment. He looked like your average young muggle tourist.

Travel via magic was heavily monitored, heavily guarded and highly restricted. That made is a lot easier to travel via muggle means. Still, there were magical guards who stood watch at airports, docks, tolls and train stations across Europe, looking for signs of witches and wizards traveling by such illegal means. One could never be too careful.

Harry smiled at a group of passing females as he handed his fake passport over. The group of females giggled to themselves, glancing at him over their shoulders as they walked away.

"Easy Casanova," a voice muttered to his left.

Looking over Harry saw that Neville was at the counter next to him, handing his passport over to another clerk.

"I'm just playing the part of the tourist," Harry murmured back. "You should try relaxing a bit."

"How do you expect me to relax when I counted twelve marks throughout the area?"

"Thirteen marks," Harry responded. "You missed the security guard by the metal detectors."

"Everything is in order," the clerk on the other side of the counter stated with a heavy accent.

"Thank you," Harry replied, grabbing his passport. He turned around and left the counter, making his way through the crowd and heading toward the escalator that would lead him to the ground floor. As he rode the escalator down, he noticed Marco in the crowd below him, making his way to the exit. He also noticed, trailing behind Marco were two marks; magical law enforcement posing as muggles in the airport.

Stepping off the escalator, Harry moved forward with a brisk pace, easily navigating the crowd. He made it so he "accidently" bumped into one of the marks. The witch blinked her eyes in confusion for a few seconds before shrugging her shoulders and turning around, completely forgetting what she was doing. Harry looked for the second trailing mark but saw that Neville had already taken care of it.

Looking for the rest of his team, he managed to spot them all throughout the crowd and made sure none of them were being followed. Once able to confirm that, he double checked to make sure he wasn't be followed, and confirming that, left the airport.

Athens was a beautiful city, from what Harry could tell from the area outside the airport. However, despite the fact that he was pretending to be a tourist, he wasn't really here to check out the view. Bellatrix Lestrange had obviously known about Greek Mythology, or if you were magical, Greek Ancient history. She had set up a prison on one of the Greek islands and called it Tartarus, after the ancient prison of the underworld where the Greek gods sent those who committed the most heinous of crimes.

The Phoenix Rebellion had little intel on the prison. To be honest, most of the Phoenix Rebellion's efforts were concentrated in the western zone of the Kingdom of the Pure. They rarely focused in the other zones, trying to win back their own countries first. And it worked out better for them because Voldemort was busy in Russia, trying to conquer the vast country like he had the rest of Europe. No Voldemort around, made things a lot easier.

"Bus ride to the coast," Su said, nodding toward a double decker bus that was beginning to fill up. She was several feet in front of Harry, looking around as if she was deciding whether to take a taxi or bus into town.

"Let's move."

Still acting as if they didn't know each other, the group of six made their way to the bus, everyone moving at different paces. Harry made his way to the second level and found an open seat.

"Excuse me miss?" Harry asked, smiling at a lightly tanned brunette. "Is this seat taken?"

She smiled in return at him and indicated she didn't understand what he was saying. Harry shook his head, forgetting he was in Greece now. He pointed to the seat next to her with an inquiring look and she quickly nodded her consent.

The women tried having a conversation with him but it was a fruitless effort. Neither understood the other; all they had going was a physical attraction. When the bus stopped off at a spot on the coast, and Harry got off, all he could do was wave good bye to her.

"Do you flirt with every girl you meet?" Derek asked as they stood on a busy street that snaked along the coast line.

Harry shrugged his shoulders. "I'm a twenty year old male who has recently gotten back into the game. I can't help it."

"According to reports," Su started, getting the group back on target, "Tartarus is located on one of Greece's thousands of uninhabitable islands in the Aegean Sea. Most reports put it south east of Athens."

"Right. Well we haven't really had any time to enjoy ourselves, so here is what I suggest. It is," Harry glanced at the watch on his wrist, "ten o'clock in the morning here in Greece. I say we rent a boat, and spend the rest of the day searching for this island. And if we bring some water skis or a tube with us, then I guess we'd have no choice but to use them."

The purebloods in the group looked at each other in confusion. What in the name of Merlin were water skis? However, Marco grinned at his words and Su merely raised an eyebrow. Harry waggled his eyebrows in return.

"Let's have fun for the first time in three years."

* * *

Harry slowed the boat down as he felt powerful magic pressing against him. Derek, who had been water skiing at the time, sunk awkwardly in the water as his momentum died down causing the teen to shout in disappointment.

"We're near the island. We're near Tartarus."

Neville pulled on the rope and handle Derek held on to, dragging Derek toward the boat. Once he was close enough, Derek disconnected the skis from his feet, tossed them onto the back of the boat and climbed in. Together they observed an island about two kilometers from their position.

"You must be feeling the wards keeping people away," Marco observed. "Notice no other boaters are getting close to the island."

Harry glanced around and saw that Marco was correct. The handful of other boats in the area seemed to bend around an invisible wall that kept them at bay every time they moved closer to the island. Harry nodded his head as Su marked the location on a map. Instantly, the fun time was gone and the team got down to business.

"Gold Three and Four, map me out the ward schemes. I want to know our best approach vector. Gold Five, scan for magical signatures within the vicinity. I want to know if they have any guards stationed this far out. Gold Two, grab some omni-oculars and keep an eye on that island. Let me know everything that happens. Gold Six, get back to shore and get us another boat. I want the biggest one you can get."

Derek's body began to shrink and morph until a small sparrow occupied its space. With a little jump. The sparrow spread its wings and took off. The rest rushed to their equipment bags and began to get out the equipment they would need. Harry lent over the edge and observed the water below him. Underwater entry might work out well. Anchor the boats two kilometers off shore and make their way to the island under the water; much harder to spot them for any guards patrolling.

It took a while for the wards schemes to be mapped out. Derek had returned by then with a second boat, this one a 30-ft charter fishing boat; the biggest one the renting place had. Of course, Harry cringed watching the half-blood bring the boat over to the much smaller one the rest of Gold Team stood on but he handled it surprisingly well.

Harry was waiting for all information to be gathered before allowing his team to speak. He wanted to hear everything at once, so all the information was fresh when he decided their course of action. When Gold Three and Four were finally mapping out he wards, just as the sun began to set, Harry nodded for them to go.

"They have one four man patrol walking along the outside and it looks like it takes roughly seven minutes and thirteen seconds for the patrol to make its circuit. They also have an aerial patrol of three men on brooms moving in the opposite direction of the foot patrol and they make a complete circuit in two minutes and forty-two seconds. It's hard to tell do to the angle but it looks like there are two guards outside the main entrance as well," Neville explained.

"Any Death Eaters sighted?" Harry asked.

"No, just Sentinels."

Harry nodded his head. Nine men on the outside, unknown number on the inside. As long as there wasn't any of the top Death Eaters inside the prison, Gold Team shouldn't have a problem as long as they didn't take every guard on at once.

"The first wards are just to keep everyone at bay. Nothing too complicated, although there are some proximity ones that will go off if crossed. The real wards are half a kilometer from the shore. Smaller field to cover so the wards are stronger. And let me tell you, the wards are numerous, complicated and deadly. The only weak point we can find in the wards is on the side of the entrance. That must be the main dock where guards switch shifts and prisoners are transported in. But you can bet they got some security set up there."

Harry acknowledged Su's report. "What about under the water? Are they strong down there?"

"All the way down," Marco confirmed. "I checked them."

"Can you make a hole? Get us through?"

Marco and Su looked at each other for a moment.

"Yes," Marco said slowly. "The first set of wards will be easy enough. But the second set? It will be noticeable; like loud and a lot of light."

"Even underwater?" Harry questioned.

Marco scratched at his chin. "There is no telling how the water will affect the waves of the sound and light since they'll be magically created. Your best bet is to go all the way to Aegean's floor and hope there's enough water between you and the surface to block the sound and light."

"Any guards in the water, or are they all on that island?"

Katie twirled a piece of hand on her finger. "All the human guards are on the island. However, there appears to be some Merpeople under the water."

"Aren't Merpeople generally non-violent?" Neville asked.

"Something's off with them. There is a taint around their signatures, some unknown magic," Katie explained.

"Probably control collars," Harry murmured. He had seen many a creature forced to act under the bidding of Voldemort and his Death Eaters due to the control collars forced around their necks.

"So what's the plan then?" Derek asked.

"We're gonna anchor the boat and go straight down. That portion where the wards are the weakest will be our entry point. Once we're inside the wards, we're going to move to the side, to avoid the gate guards. We time it right and wait for the foot patrol to move out of the area and then we ambush the fliers. Take them down before they raise the alarm. Then we split up and take out the two guards and the foot patrol. Once all the outside guys are taken care of, we move in."

"Are we rescuing everyone?" Neville asked.

Harry had thought that over. While Alexis Dempsey and her fellow Amazons was their main target, the possibility of adding more wands to their cause was too much to pass up. Not to mention, if they potentially rescued someone important to another group, in a similar situation to what they were doing for the Amazons, then maybe they could forge another alliance.

"Yes. No one is getting left behind."

"That is most likely a lot of people. You sure we're going to be able to get them all out?" Katie asked.

Harry ignored her question and turned toward Su. "How long would it take for you to bring down both set of wards by yourself?"

Su mulled the question over. "Forty minutes for the first set and several days for the second one."

"Alright, what about opening a hole in the second set, where its weakest, and leaving it open? A hole big enough to fit a boat."

"Two hours I guess, if I leave the basic, non-threatening ones up."

"Good enough. Su stays behind on the boat, watching from the omni-oculars. Once we emerge from the water, she starts working on bringing down the first set of wards. After that is complete, she moves the boat forward and works on opening the hole in the second set of wards. While she's doing that, we're taking out guards and rescuing prisoners. By the time she is done opening our exit, we should be clear of the prison and waiting on the docks. She comes in, picks us up and we'll use the small boat as a buffer, in case any guards on brooms feel like following us. Then we're home free."

The rest of Gold Team processed his plan with various reactions. Neville and Derek seemed to agree with it. Su looked pissed at being left behind. Marco was trying to play the scenario over in his head, to see if it would work out as easily as Harry said it would. Katie looked at him with cross arms.

"It never goes that easy," Katie pointed out.

"True but what plans ever go according to plan anyway?"

Neville snorted at that. With a wave of Harry's wand, everyone's bathing suits transformed back into their underwear. They all quickly put on their underclothes, to prevent chaffing, and then their armor; layered Hungarian Horntail hide covered in the fur of a re'em, to give it its gold color. Next they attached spare wands, knives and swords to their bodies; hips, ankles, forearms. Harry checked to make sure everything was where it should be on his combat belt.

They hooked the smaller boat they had used for water skiing to the larger one. Then, Harry had taken control of the larger boat and steered it near the weak point in the wards Marco and Su had been talking about. He stopped several meters from the wards edge, just to be sure, and dropped anchor.

"Don't forget spells to make sure the pressure at the bottom doesn't affect you," Harry reminded them. "Last thing I need is one of you guys dying from the bends."

When all the proper spells were applied five of the members of Gold Team dropped into the water. They conjured some weights so they sank all the way to the bottom, several thousand feet down. Once hitting bottom, they got rid of the weights and just floated around. It took Marco five minutes to open up a hole big enough for all of them to swim through. As Marco worked on taking down this set, the rest stood guard, so to speak.

"Harry," Katie's muffled voice shouted.

Harry turned his head toward her and saw that she was pointing at something. He squinted his eyes and got a good look at nine Mermen approaching, their weapons raised. Harry kicked his legs, propelling himself in the direction of the charging Mermen. His wand flashed and a large blast of water sent the Mermen tumbling backwards.

They recovered quickly and charged again, except this time they were more spread out. Harry hesitated, remembering that these Mermen wore control collars and were under the control of Voldemort. Neville didn't appear to have such problems though, as a stream of scolding water rocketed from his wand and slammed into the nearest Merman. The being shrieked in agony as its skin blistered. Neville shot another blast, but this one was dodged.

Harry jabbed his wand forward, bindings flying from the tip. A Merman tried to defend himself from the bindings with his spear but it was no use. Soon his hands were hog tied to his tail, and he bobbed along the Aegean Sea's floor. Harry turned to take care of another one, only to see that it had closed the distance and was now within reaching distance. The Merman jabbed its spear at Harry's midsection but Harry grabbed it and yanked it away at the last second. He kept one grip on the spear, and used his other hand to send a stunner into the being. The Merman slumped to the ground unconscious. Spinning quickly, he caught the Merman trying to spear him from the side with a stunner as well.

Derek had blown half of a Merman's chest cavity out. Another lay decapitated from where Derek had sent a thin piece of metal through its neck. The one Neville had been aiming at lay dead due to severe burns across its body, a second one lay next to it and was just as dead. Katie had used one's own Trident to pin it to the ground, jamming the three pronged weapon through the Merman's tail. The Merman was trying to free himself but looked too weak due to blood loss to lift the weapon.

The last Merman had fled the area after seeing four of his friends killed and the other four captured. Harry swam over and stunned the Merman pinned by his own trident. Pulling the weapon out of the ground, he waved his wand over the wound and stopped the bleeding. Neville gave him a strange look, but Harry ignored it as he poked the control collar around the Merman's neck with his wand. Immediately the collar shattered into dozens of pieces.

He moved over and did the same to the two Mermen he had stunned during the brief fight. Then he went over to the hog tied one and destroyed his control collar as well. Once he was sure the Merman was under his own mind, Harry untied him and indicated his three stunned friends. The Merman seemed to get the drift for he quickly gathered the three that were still alive and quickly swam away with them.

They waited in silence as Marco continued to work on the wards. No more Merpeople bothered them, though Harry thought he could sense more nearby. If the person who controlled their collars, probably the warden of the prison, commanded the Merman to attack then they would without thought to their own personal being. However, without such a command, while more aggressive than normal, their survival instincts still overrode passive commands, such as defend the prison from underwater attacks.

A bright flash of light lit up the dark waters and a loud gong like sound echoed around him. Harry knew at once Marco had created a hole in the wards, whether it be from sheer power or more of a finesse method, Harry didn't know and he didn't care. When he looked over he saw a four by four section of glowing green light.

"That's our entrance," Marco said, his voice muffled by the bubble around his head.

"Then let's move Gold Team. We got some prisoners to rescue. Let's just hope no one noticed Gold Four's light show."


	3. The Council

Chapter 3 Council Meetings

Harry opened the door slowly and peered down the corridor. Along the stone walls were two dozen metal doors, with bar windows. According to the guard he had asked politely in a very physical, violent way, this is where the important prisoners were located. At the end of the corridor, directly opposite him, was a solid metal door. That was the interrogation chamber and with the way the guard had said "interrogation" Harry believed it to be a torture room.

Harry crept forward, his wand held out in front of him. He moved toward the first door and peered inside. It was dark, so it was hard to see everything in exact detail but he could see two women, both wearing torn clothing and suffering from fresh wounds only a few days old. If Harry had to guess, they were a part of the Amazon squad that Alexis Dempsey had been a part of.

Harry tapped the door with his wand and it quickly popped open. The two women looked up with wild looks in their eyes.

"Amazons?" Harry demanded, his wand trained on them.

"Harry Potter?" one of them asked in shock. She spoke with an accent. He couldn't place it. Maybe Scandinavian?

Harry lit up the tip of his wand, illuminating the two women. Definitely some fresh wounds. More than likely, they had been in the interrogation room yesterday, as Death Eaters tried to pry answers out of them.

"What...what are you doing here?"

"Albus Dumbledore asked that I save his great-granddaughter," Harry answered. "Plus, she's kind of a friend of mine. So here I am."

He waved his wand about and cast some of the basic healing spells he knew. He wasn't an expert in the healing arts. It was one of the magics he had never put much effort into learning. Mostly because his body had its own innate healing ability. It was a magical gift one in twenty witches and wizards were born with and he was one of them.

"Where is she?" Harry asked.

"Lestrange has her. In the torture chamber."

It appeared only one was in good enough condition to speak, because it was only one who asked questions and provided answers. She shakily got to her feet as Harry paused in his healing.

"Lestrange," he hissed out. He owed that bitch some payback.

Harry pulled out one of his spare wands and handed it to the standing Amazon. "We came here to rescue everyone. Heal yourselves up. I'm going to free the others."

Harry peered into the cell door across from the one he had just opened. A large burly man lay curled in a ball, his head in his hands. Shining his wand through the bars, Harry could see a network of old scars and wounds. The man must have been down here a while.

He opened the door and stepped inside. The man glanced up, his face covered in dirt and grime. The man said something but it was in Greek. Harry tapped his ears and lips with his wand, casting a translation charm upon himself.

"Who are you?" Harry asked.

"I am Stefan Patera," the man answered.

Harry knew that name. It had been years since it was last spoken but he definitely knew that name. He searched his mind for the answer; trying to remember where he had heard that name from.

"Greece's Wizarding Army General?" he asked after a moment.

The man frowned before slowly nodding his head. He uncurled himself from his ball and tried getting to his feet but collapsed from the effort. Again Harry found himself casting the basic healing spells he knew. He shouldn't be delaying in going to rescue Alexis but he knew, despite how much he wished it was the opposite, he was no match for Lestrange in a duel. He needed these people up and mobile. He needed them to be able to climb a bunch of stairs and run to a boat, while he did his damnedest to hold the crazy bitch off.

"The wards are down. I'm bringing in the boats," Su's voice sounded in his ear.

Harry stopped his casting, as Greece's former Wizarding Army General slowly got to his feet. He tapped his wand to a badge on his chest.

"As soon as you are done clearing your sections, get those you rescued to the boat immediately. Gold Three, I'm going to need you to come down and grab the prisoners I'm freeing. Lestrange has Alexis in another room, and I need these people gone by the time I make a run for it."

"Roger that Gold One. Honing in on your position and making my way down."

* * *

Su was currently leading the group of prisoners Harry had rescued up the stairs to the main floor. Which meant, it was time for Harry to rescue Alexis Dempsey from the crazy bitch known as Bellatrix Lestrange. He gripped his wand tightly in one hand and had a magical resistant throwing dagger in the other.

With a flick of his wand, the solid metal door at the end of the corridor banged open. Harry quickly ran forward and ducked underneath the spell Lestrange reflexively shot. He blocked another one, twirled around a third and fired back with his own Piercing Hex.

Harry used the second it took Lestrange to block his spell to quickly examine the room. Lot of torture equipment. Metal rack in the middle of room that Alexis was strapped to. There was some fresh cuts and burn marks on her body. Lestrange stood on the other side of the table, meaning Harry had to maneuver so Alexis was no longer between him and his opponent.

"Potter!" Lestrange cried in a voice mixed with anger, disgust and pleasure.

Harry cringed at the way she said his name. He quickly moved to his left, shielding against a spell he knew was a powerful flesh-eater. The problem was, as Harry moved to his left, Lestrange moved to her left. The psychotic bitch was keeping Alexis between them as they fought.

"Come on Lestrange, too afraid to fight me fairly?" Harry taunted.

Lestrange cackled. "Afraid of what Potter? You bleeding to death on me?"

Harry grimaced. Last time they had fought, Lestrange had caught him in his jugular with a cutter that had shattered through his shield. Luckily, his shield had drained the spell of most of its power otherwise he would be Nearly Headless Harry. It was also lucky that Sirius had been there to take on his cousin once Harry had fallen and Ron had been able to drag Harry away to a medic. Harry had almost bled to death that day.

Realizing he had to get Alexis out of the way, Harry ducked under a chain of spells and hit the torture rack with a burst of magic. The chains holding Alexis in place disintegrated. He moved forward toward Alexis but Lestange launched a ferocious volley of spells and he found himself having to quickly back pedal under the onslaught.

He still clutched the throwing knife in his left hand but he was waiting for the perfect moment to use. He continued to block the barrage of spells shot at him before quickly diving to the side, coming up in a roll. He slashed his wand through the air and it started shooting out darts of magic like a machine gun.

Lestrange threw up a dome of defensive magic, his attack slamming into the shield and sending ripples across the surface. Harry's left hand shot forward and the knife spun from his grip. When it passed through her shield, Lestrange tried to block it with burst of magic and attempted to move out of the way at the same time. However, Dumbledore himself had enchanted the knife's anti-magic abilities, and it was too late.

The knife caught Lestrange in the right side of her chest causing her to stagger backwards. Harry used the chance to lunge forward and quickly scoop Alexis off the torture rack.

"Potter! _Avada Kedavra_!"

Harry ducked underneath the spell and spun on his heel. He moved forward, sending out a burst of magic behind him, which caught the torture rack, ripped it free of its holdings and sent it tumbling at Lestrange. Harry heard the sound of metal warping as he ran out of the room. Glancing over his shoulder, he was forced to awkwardly spin while holding Alexis and blast apart the large ball of metal, formerly known as the torture rack, that was flying at him.

Lestrange, not even caring about the knife in her chest, advanced on him, a stream of curses flying from her wand. Harry flicked his wand and the door to the torture room quickly closed and took the impact of all the spells. Harry continued making his way out of the dungeon of the prison. He conjured a few animals as he ran to distract Lestrange, whose spells had blown the door right of its hinges.

"Get back here Potter!" Lestrange yelled as she came charging after him.

"Sorry! Gotta go!"

Harry's hawk was blown out of the air in a burst of feathers. One of the rottweilers was carved into a meaty mess with two flicks of a wand and the second just seized to exist. Almost at the end of the corridor of prison cells, Harry was forced to shield against a chain of spells meant to shatter his bones. As he passed through the doorway that opened up into the stairway leading to the rest of the prison, he hit the stone frame with an explosion hex, not even sttaying around to watch the rock shatter into dozens of pieces and collapse upon itself.

Lestrange's yell of anger followed him out of the prison.

* * *

Harry appeared at the designated area for inbound apparations to the Hog's Pen. Immediately, two men wearing red armor appeared out of no where and approached him. There was another two dozen people hidden around the area though, even if they weren't visible to the naked eye. Harry could sense them. That and he was there when security for the Hog's Pen had been discussed and put into motion.

Without saying anything, Harry held out his hand and his wand. One of them snatched his wand, while the other took out a small cylinder and pressed it against Harry's finger. Harry didn't move as he felt a sharp pinch on his finger, as the cylinder drew his blood. The object buzzed for a moment before beeping and producing a piece of paper. The wizard holding the cylinder snatched the paper with his free hand and read it over.

During all this, the one with Harry's wand, was waving at it with his own wand, muttering incantations under his breath. Although nothing happened to the naked eye, the man nodded his head in satisfaction, before holding Harry's wand out.

"Statement," the man with the cylinder demanded, before Harry could reach out for his wand.

"Only through rebirth can we truly achieve victory."

They both nodded their heads as Harry grabbed his wand. The two men stepped aside. Harry moved passed them and made his way through the meadow that led to the edge of Hogsmeade. What had once been a quaint little wizarding village had turned into a military town. A wall now surrounded its borders, watch towers built at fifty feet intervals, each one manned by two guards at all times. The streets were constantly patrolled and guards were stationed everywhere.

The dueling arena had been turned into militia training ground, where the villagers who wished to learn to fight were taught how to. The small hospital built at the start of the war had expanded five times its size. The Auror Headquarters, also built at the start of the war, had been developed into a large complex that now housed over eight hundred of the Phoenix Rebellion's fighters.

Harry walked through the town, calling out greetings to those he knew. Not everything had been militarized though. Some of things still remaining the same from his Hogwarts days. The Three Broomsticks and the Hog's Head Pub were both still standing, as was Honeyduke's. Zonko's had burned to the ground in the second raid on the town. So had the post office, stationary store and Gladrag's. The residential section had grown by almost a hundred houses after the initial remodeling the town underwent under Dumbledore's few months in office several years ago. They had to cut into the Forbidden Forest some in order to fit in all the new homes.

"Harry!"

Harry glanced up as Gabrielle Delacour came running up to him. She was fifteen years old and had moved to Britain to live with Fleur after the murder of their parents two years ago. Just by looking at her you could tell she was a Veela. Despite being only fifteen, she had the body of a very voluptuous woman. She looked very similar to Fleur, except Gabrielle's hair was curly.

"Gabi!" Harry cried, picking her up in a hug and spinning her around. "Why aren't you in class?" Harry asked.

"It's a weekend Harry," Gabrielle giggled, as he put her down. "I don't have class."

"Right, the relaxed rules for weekends," Harry muttered.

With a lot of the students families living in the Hog's Pen, students didn't have to stay on Hogwart's ground on weekends.

"Are you here for the Council meeting?" Gabrielle asked.

Harry nodded his head. "I was told it was a matter of utmost importance."

Gabrielle latched onto his arm. "Can I walk with you to the chamber?"

"Of course," Harry responded.

Harry led the way down the path leading to the school. Harry nodded his head to the few guards who patrolled the pathway.

"How are things going on the war front? They don't tell us much."

Harry glanced down at Gabrielle, who was looking at him with curiosity and apprehension. He wondered what he should tell her. She was fifteen years old. When he was sixteen years old, only a year older, he was working as a spy for the Ministry. Trying to protect her from what was going on in the outside world was stupid. She was going to be involved in two years anyway. Might as well let her know what she was getting herself into.

"Things are going slowly. Small raids and the like right now. We're trying to build our numbers up so we can match Voldemort's forces in an actual battle."

"What about you? Fleur is always off on missions for your teams. You have the Rebellion's best fighting force!"

Harry snorted. "We're not the best. We're still too young, Gabi. Only five of my team members have reached their magical maturity. No, the best fighters in the Rebellion are probably the Talons."

The Talons were fighters made up of a mostly former Hit-Wizards and Aurors. Kingsley, Sirius and Broderick Anwell were all members of the Talons. After the Talons there were the Sparks, who made up the majority of the Rebellion fighting force. There were other smaller groups out there as well. The Furies were the ones who guarded the larger settlements and bases, like the Lion's Den and the Hog's Pen. The Boreans were Abraxan pulled chariots that had a driver and two riders. The Cyclones were Hippogriff mounted units that carried magically enhanced lances.

The Knights were very skilled fighters but they excelled at the more espionage-esque kind of missions.

"The Talons have the power but they don't go on the kind of missions you guys do. The sabotage, the infiltration. It is very exciting."

"I wouldn't use the word exciting. Terrifying is more like it."

Harry observed the temporary huts and the like that had taken up a lot of Hogwart's ground as they passed through the gates. While Hogsmeade had expanded, it wasn't enough to house everyone. A lot of families had taken up living in the temporary homes and huts that had originally been built during the fall of the Ministry to handle the large influx of refugees that had sought refuge at the school. What had once been temporary housing had turned pretty permanent though.

"I wish I could be out there with you. Do you think I'd be able to join the Knights, Harry?" Gabrielle asked.

Harry chuckled to himself. He remembered being eager to join the war when he was her age. In retrospect, he wished he had waited to enter the war but out of everyone, he was the one who couldn't wait.

"Take my advice Gabi. Enjoy whatever remains of your childhood while you can. When you graduate, then you can come talk to me about joining the Knights."

Gabrielle tilted her head. "Do the boot camp classes teach us enough to be a Knight?"

Harry frowned lightly, trying to remember. The Defense Against the Dark Arts class had been broken up into three separate classes, and along with dueling, and the much more recently added, physical conditioning class, were termed "The Boot Camp Classes" because parents thought it was Hogwarts way of training their kids to be soldiers for the war.

"They get you started, yeah. But hand-to-hand combat, battle magic, fighting as a team, are all things the Knights know that Hogwarts doesn't teach you."

"Can you teach me?"

"I'm posted at the Badger's Burrow Gabi. The Council wants me in the United Kingdom for our operations here but close enough to the rest of Europe that I can be sent in if things go wrong. I won't be able to teach you. Ask Fleur."

"Fleur will not teach me anything. She still sees me as a child."

Harry didn't respond. Fleur was the legal guardian of Gabrielle. If she wasn't willing to teach her younger sister anything, Harry wouldn't go against that, even if he was station at the Hog's Pen.

Gabrielle stopped short, causing Harry to stop as well. "We are here."

Harry looked around and realized he was standing in front of the doorway to the Council's Chamber. He hadn't even realized they had entered the school. Gabrielle detached herself from his arm and stood on her tippy toes to give him a kiss on the cheek.

"Will you come to Fleur's for dinner after?" she asked.

"If the meeting doesn't go too long, I will be there," he promised.

Gabrielle nodded her head before skipping away. Harry watched her leave. He knew she had a crush on him. According to Fleur, ever since he had rescued her from the Black Lake six years ago, Gabrielle has had a crush on him. He shook his head. She was fifteen and would grow out of it eventually. He was sure of it.

Harry pushed open the door to the Council's Chamber and stepped into the room. The chamber consisted of a large circular table with an interactive map of Europe in the middle of it. It wasn't anything to fancy or complex. It was just a simple room where the Council met to discuss the war and what should be done. Harry's inclusion on it had met protest from many but Dumbledore had insisted. Since Harry was the one who had to kill Voldemort, he should help decide the moves of the Rebellion.

"Harry! Splendid that you are here. How is Alexis doing?" Dumbledore asked upon noticing his entrance.

Harry walked to his seat. "She's fine. She's at the Badger's Burrow recuperating, along with the all of the other prisoners we rescued."

"How do you know one of those prisoners aren't a spy? A mole planted by Voldemort?" Mad-Eye demanded from his seat.

"We went through the proper precautions Mad-Eye," Harry assured.

"Constant vigilance!" the man shouted.

Harry rolled his eyes as he moved to his seat next and quickly sat down. The Council consisted of a Military side and a Civilian side, with Dumbledore being the head of the council and the lead General of the Phoenix Rebellion Military Forces. Despite the fact that he no longer held the position of Headmaster of Hogwarts, he was still referred to as the Headmaster. It was rather confusing to some.

Each side consisted of four members. The Council, when it was first formed, was only six large. However, when the Phoenix Rebellion had expanded into the countries of France and Spain and had many new members joined the cause from those countries, it was decided to expand the Council to include members from those countries and three people had been chosen, bringing the council to the odd number needed for majority votes. Harry looked around the room, nodding his head to each member he made eye contact with.

Professor McGonagall, Headmistress of Hogwarts. Hogwarts wasn't just for British and Irish teenagers anymore. Muggle-borns from all over Europe who were discovered by Phoenix Rebel spies and either rescued from Voldemort's prisons, or gotten to before Voldemort's forces, learned magic at Hogwarts. The school's student population had swelled to almost a thousand students, more then double its former numbers, and that number was always growing. New dormitories had to be constructed and dozens of professors now worked in the halls.

Julian Hoffel, Mayor of Hogwarts and Heir to Hufflepuff. He was in charge of not just the population of Hogsmeade but those that lived on Hogwart's front lawn as well. The Hog's Pen population was several thousand and was where the majority of the non-military personnel families lived. He was the voice of the every day citizen and tried his best to accommodate everyone he could.

Tyler Dupont, Head of Diplomatic Affairs. The former Head of International Cooperation for the French Ministry. The Phoenix Rebellion had plenty of people outside of Europe trying to get support from other countries. They hadn't managed to get a full out alliance like they had been hoping for but supplies were still very much appreciated. Dupont was in charge of those diplomats.

Javier Punallo, Head of Agriculture. Former owner of Punallo Plantations, once the largest supplier of produce to Spain and Portugal. His three thousand acres worth of land had been taken from him, along with his muggle-wife, once Voldemort had come into power. The Rebellion had rescued his wife, and had brought Punallo into their fold. He had quickly taken position as the one in charge of their various plots of land used to provide food for all of its members and their families.

Amelia Bones, General of the Phoenix Rebellion Military Force. That included the Talons, Sparks, Furies, Boreans, Cyclones and, technically, Harry's Knights. Her seventeen years as Head of the Magical Law Enforcement for the United Kingdom Ministry gave her a lot of experience in leading men and women into combat. The fighters respected her as well, the biggest thing needed to be a successful leader.

Mad-Eye Moody, General of the Phoenix Rebellion Military Force. Mad-Eye was given his position because no one knew the tactics of the Death Eater leaders better then he did. When he found out who was leading Voldemort's forces, whether it was Rookwood or Dolohov or any number of other Death Eaters, he knew how they would direct their troops and the best way to counter. He had spent his entire life fighting and leading the fight against Dark Wizards.

Madeleine Dipreaux, Head of Research and Development. Originally a French version of the Unspeakables, Dipreaux had been the one to seek out the Phoenix Rebellion after a battle in Paris. She had been in hiding but after seeing some of the weapons the Rebellion had been using, her intellectual curiosity had taken control. She had needed to look at the notes for some of their weapons, and after showing her capabilities in the field, had steadily moved her way up the chain in their Research and Development branch.

Then there was Harry himself. He was the 20 year old Chosen One, who was still five years from achieving his magical maturation. His team of Knights, numbering ten teams of six each, were the most versatile group of fighters the Phoenix Rebellion had. If they managed to survive the next few years, and the Knights started reaching the magical age of 25, Harry knew his teams would be the most powerful fighting force the Rebellion had as well, but that was a big if.

"I have asked you all to gather here because our spies have made a huge discovery," the Headmaster started. "The location of another Horcrux."

Harry sucked in his breath. Another one?

"Where?" Moody demanded.

"The Ardenne's War Memorial," Dumbledore stated.

"I thought we checked there already?" Bones asked, confused.

"No. It was one of the first places I looked to see what items could possibly be Horcruxes. It was discovered that Grindelwald's wand had been stolen. However, we have never searched it to see if it was the location of a Horcrux."

Harry shook his head. That was sloppy work on Dumbledore's part right there. As the one in charge of the Horcrux search, Dumbledore directed the Seekers, the ones who went across Europe searching for possible Horcrux locations. The Ardenne's War Memorial should have been checked long ago.

Punallo frowned. "So what does this mean? Why call all of us here? Why not just assign a team to go get it?"

Harry cleared his throat. "A Death Eater base sits at the Memorial. No way of getting in there without alerting the Death Eaters, who will alert Voldemort, who will instantly come to investigate due to what is hidden there."

"And once he suspects we might know about his Horcruxes, he'll check on the others and see that we've already destroyed several of them. This will cause him to move his remaining ones, possibly making them harder to find," Dumbledore finished for Harry.

"So what exactly do you want this Council to do?" Julian asked.

"Isn't it obvious? Dipreaux asked. "We need to come up with a way to get a team in that Memorial without alerting Voldemort what we're up to."

Moody banged his hand on the table, causing Dupont to jump and McGonagall to exclaim, "Mad-Eye!"

"We need to draw those forces at the Death Eater base out. Not just some of them but that entire damn garrison."

"And how do you suggest we do that Alastor?" McGonagall demanded.

"We attack," Harry quietly stated. Everyone turned toward him. "We have to launch a major offensive in the area. One that is a big enough threat so whoever is in charge of the region, calls on the entire garrison of the base to help defend against it."

Julian looked completely baffled. "Attack?"

"With what? I'm not sure if you are aware of this Mr. Potter, but we don't have many fighters," Dupont pointed out.

Punallo waved his hand about. "What about our alliances? If we were to attack could we rely on any of them? Are any of them strong enough."

Dupont quickly shook his head. "The main resistance force in Eastern Europe is not nearly as large or organized as we are and can't be relied upon at all. All of the other groups number a few dozen each, not enough to rely on. The Americans are too afraid to leave their shores and have refused our pleas for military assistance. The Russians are already struggling holding off Voldemort and haven't been able to commit any troops towards helping us. The centaur tribes in the region are likely out of the picture as well, since they generally only help us if their territories are threatened."

Everyone started to talk at once about the possibility of an attack. Harry leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. He shouldn't have said anything. They weren't ready for an attack. Dupont was right; they didn't have the numbers.

A loud _BANG _echoed throughout the room from Dumbledore's wand. "Let us all take the night to think about this. I believe we can all agree it is an important decision to be made."

Mutters of a agreement went up from the other members. Harry decided to bring up another point he had been thinking about.

"Since we agree to take a break on the attacking issue until tomorrow, I have something else I'd like to discuss before we adjourn the meeting."

"By all means Harry, say what you would like to say," Dumbledore said, inclining his head.

"We need to strengthen the Griffin Militia," Harry plainly stated. The Griffin Militia was the main resistance force in Eastern Europe that Dupont had referenced earlier. "Right now they aren't much use to us as allies. They don't have the leadership or the numbers to be effective, and as shown by the previous discussion, we can't rely on them at all."

"And how do you propose we change that?" Bones asked.

"I rescued the former General of Greek's Wizarding Army, as well as several dozen former Ministry employees from all over southeastern Europe, mostly former law enforcement officials. We know Durmstrang is their home base. If we can get these people into Durmstrang with some supplies, it will greatly bolster them, making them much more efficient allies."

Moody nodded his head approvingly. "I like your thinking Potter. We don't have the numbers to do this alone."

"We don't know where Durmstrang is though," Julian pointed out.

"I have a former student in one of my teams. If the Council will give the approval, I can lead this convoy to Durmstrang."

"An excellent idea Harry. Why don't we all take the night to think over Harry's proposal, as well as think about this potential offensive."

Harry stiffly nodded his head before standing from the table. He went to make a quick exit but found himself being waved over by Dumbledore. Refraining himself from sighing, he made his way over to his former Headmaster.

"How is Alexis doing, really?" Dumbledore asked, quietly.

"She'll live. When I rescued her, Lestrange was torturing her for information. Still, others there had it worse and from what I remember, Alexis is a strong girl."

"That she is," Dumbledore murmured. "I would like to accompany you back to the Badger's Burrow tomorrow after the meeting, to see her."

"Of course. You're the head of the Phoenix Rebellion, you can go to whichever one of our bases you want," Harry pointed out.

Dumbledore gave a small, sad chuckle. "Just another title I wish I didn't have."

* * *

"An attack?" Fleur asked, incredulous.

Harry nodded his head as he chewed his food. "Our first major offensive. We need to draw that garrison away and make it so no one is the wiser of why we're in the area."

"Is it wise though?" Fleur asked. Like her sister, there was only a slight hint of her French accent.

"Well we haven't decided yet. It's still something being discussed."

"You mean an attack with everyone?" Gabrielle questioned butting into the conversation. She had been watching as Harry and Fleur had talked about the war, her head swiveling back and forth as she took in more information then she had ever been privy to. However, it seemed the most recent talk was too shocking for her to hold in her silence.

Harry shook his head. "Not everyone. More then likely it will involve a majority of our fighters though. I'm not going to let all my teams participate. If they do decided to do it that is."

"Why not?" Fleur wondered.

Harry looked down at his meal before looking back up, staring Fleur in the eye. "How many years before you reach your magical maturation?"

"Two," Fleur answered immediately.

"And I have five. And Susan has five. And Neville has five. And Derek has six."

"I don't understand," Gabrielle quipped.

"My teams aren't heavy hitters Gabrielle. I told you this earlier. You were right about what we do. Infiltration, hit and runs; those are what we excel at. A straight up battle will lead to more casualties for my teams then I could possibly cope with. I will take some of my teams in as support but the rest will either be left at their bases, or maybe go on some raids around the region since there will be a serious lack of security."

"Will the Council approve?" Fleur asked.

Harry's Knights were outside the standard military command for the Rebellion, but they still answered to the council. Harry could go against them, but that would cause unnecessary tension and more than likely lead to him being kicked out of the Council and kept out of the loop regarding a lot of information.

"I can get Dumbledore and McGonagall on my side easily. I'd just need two more to agree with my line of reasoning."


End file.
